US charges man in alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump
· DWThe indictment unsealed by the US Justice Department revealed more details of the alleged plan by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps to assassinate Donald Trump while he campaigned for a second term in office.
The United States has charged a man in connection with an alleged plot ordered by Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump before the 2024 election.
On Friday, US prosecutors said Farhad Shakeri was tasked by the IRGC with "providing a plan" to kill Trump.
The Justice Department said the plot to assassinate Trump was revenge for the 2020 killing of General Qassem Soleimani.
Deadline for plan to assassinate Trump
The Washington Post reports that the criminal complaint, filed in Manhattan court, is based on a sworn account by an FBI agent, including voluntary phone interviews with Shakeri.
He allegedly told the agent he could not put together a plan within the seven-day timeframe the Iranian government wanted, so officials in the Revolutionary Guard paused the plan.
The Justice Department described Shakeri as an "IRGC asset residing in Tehran" who has not been arrested.
Federal officials said the charges, unsealed shortly after Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris, highlight ongoing Iranian efforts to target US officials, including Trump, on American soil.
"There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Surveillance on the Iranian government's targets
The Justice Department also charged two others who were allegedly helping Shakeri surveil an outspoken critic of Iran’s government in the United States.
Carlisle Rivera, from Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, from Staten Island, appeared in court in the Southern District of New York on Thursday and are being detained pending trial.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said, "the charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target US citizens." He added, "This includes President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran."
lo/dh (AFP, AP, Reuters)